BC Geographic Warehouse

• About the BC Geographic Warehouse
• Access data
• Publish data
• Resources for publishing, updating and retiring BCGW data
• Contact us

About the BC Geographic Warehouse

The BC Geographic Warehouse (BCGW) is a central government repository of spatial and non-spatial data. We support ministries to publish data in the BCGW to increase data:

• Integration
• Sharing and exchange
• Analysis
• Decision-making

Data in the BCGW includes:

• Base mapping information, such as heights of land, rivers, lakes, roads, place name and administrative boundaries
• Government program information, like forest cover, ecosystems, economic and health indicator

Access data

Data in the BCGW can be accessed through:

• Direct Connect via mapping applications (ArcGIS, QGIS) using a BCGW account
• Web Mapping Applications for spatial data only for example iMapBC, BC’s MapHub (ArcGIS Online)
• BC Data Catalogue:
  • Web Mapping Services including WMS, WFS, KML
  • Data Download

Publish data

Government ministries and agencies can publish data in the BCGW. BCGW data publishing has a standardized publication process. This ensures government data standards for quality and consistency.

Publishing benefits

Benefits of publishing data in the BC Geographic Warehouse include:

• Provides broad access to data for any authorized user
• Allows data to be transformed and presented in a format useful to many audiences
• Provides a central point of access to datasets from across government
• Integration with other data available in the BC Geographic Warehouse
• Offers standard access channels, such as: Direct Connect, the BC Data Catalogue, iMapBC, secure iMapBC, ArcGIS Online, WMS, WFS, KML

Contact us

Submit feedback, request more information, or get help through the Data Systems and Services request system.